In order to clear up a few misunderstandings, I'm going to lay a few thoughts on the table:

When I responded to OldBMW's post where he said, "I wouldn't write off the Triumph bonneville at this stage ",

I wasn't slagging him off- I thought he may have been making a joke regarding Che Guevara's Motorcycle Diaries on which they rode a Triumph.

Personally, I would love a triumph, and I'm sure the bike could do the trip adequately. Its just when I look at pictures of it, its low ground clearance, exposed piping et cetera, it doesn't instinctively strike me as an ideal all around performance bike for that trip. Technically I could do the trip on a vespa or a push bike, but that isn't what I had in mind. I will thank OldBMW again for his input, though. There was no intended smack talking in my response despite what people may wish to read into it.

now @ marc:

Sorry I came off as brash, but If you are going to go through the time consuming process of reading my lengthy post, logging in and typing a paragraph response, and not say anything constructive or helpful, and instead use that time to invalidate my post, of course I'm going to have words with you. I would truly love to hear about your expertise and point of view if you would be so kind as to direct your energies to a constructive response. I'll have you know that I had literally spent hours reading post after post after post, before writing my own. If you have links to old postings that answer my questions that perhaps I overlooked, again, I would have appreciated the constructive response and followed the links.

@ Threewheeledbonnie:

Again, in no way am I knocking the Triumph. I would love to own one. I'll indulge your suggestion and do some research, though, as I am always open to new ideas. Intuitively, when I see bikes more tailor-made for trips like this, that is where I instinctively lean. As for you thinking I really want the F800gs, well, sure, but not too much more than any other bike. Its flash, its well built, and undoubtedly fun to ride. However, it is also undoubtedly overpriced, and pointless to buy in the light of something virtually as good for half the price. Would I take a used F800 all modded up if I could find one for $8K? Quite possibly. But have no mistake, I am very very happy with the KLR etc. for half the cost. In the end, all I care about is performance tailored to this trip. The reason I was posting my question about the dual vs. thumper was because if the dual is simply flat-out unnecessary, I would be overjoyed to have a used and fully modded KLR or similar for ~$6K. I particularly like the idea of being able to fix most problems on the bike myself especially if I'm stuck in-between places. The Japs afford me this luxury. Finally, thanks Andy for your point of view on training your body for the ride. That is exactly the type of response I'm seeking.

So everybody, please continue with the constructive responses, as I'd be happy to listen to your personal experiences and tales from the road all day. I mean that.

Cheers-
Cristiano